Collect some old aged boards. I found mine on the side of the road on bulk trash day! No shame people!

Take a scrub brush and dry brush off the boards to remove dirt. Sweep off. If necessary you can use water and soap, but dry brush first, so the dirt doesn’t just dry right back on there. I was too impatient to deal with soap and water.

Next you want to seal the wood, so that the vinyl will stick to it, and not dirt. I used a water based polyurethane, two good coats, be sure to follow the instructions for drying time between coats. (Don’t dip directly into your gallon of polyurethane, you will get some dirt on your brush and then into your fresh poly if you do that. Use another container and pour in a small amount to use, and don’t return it to the gallon after ward!!- use it all up!)

Cut and arrange boards until you are happy with the look.

Collect some old screws to screw boards together.

Pre-drill holes for screw to avoid splitting the wood. We screwed the boards into a horizontal piece of the same wood, that we placed on back. We had one on top and bottom (forgot to photograph it sorry!) Leave the screw exposed, that is part of the beauty!

Follow instructions that come with your vinyl, making sure you have gone over all of the art with a credit card or similar tool to adhere the glue properly. Once that is done, position your art onto your boards and tape at top to secure in place. Flip over and remove the paper backing.

Carefully turn it back onto the wood, and rub that baby with all your strength!! You may have to do a little extra rubbing after you peel off the paper to make sure it is adhering well. The polyurethane will help the vinyl stick (so I hope you didn’t sick that step!)

Rub any loose spots… and admire for a just moment.

This is where I got a little scared!! You see, I made spaces in the boards on purpose, but I was risking ruining the piece by cutting it all up. So I took a deep breath and started trimming- but it worked, AND it looked so much better after.

Slowly and carefully cut the vinyl that spans between the gaps of the boards. Just let the knife follow along the edge of the wood. If the vinyl pulls instead of cuts, replace your blade and I found that it also helps to start your cut just inside the vinyl (not from edge to edge). Experiment cutting the small portions before moving on to the bigger sections, so you feel comfortable.

You can see in the picture above what a difference it makes to cut out the gaps. Like it was meant to be together, no applied afterward!!

We found the perfect place for this in our entry (right next to my still unfinished stairs!!!) To hang it we took the easy way out. Simply screw a 2 1/2 inch screw right through the entire thing into a stud. It is rustic with exposed screws already so you won’t notice it at all!

LOVE!!

Just for fun, do you have any cool vinyl project to show off? Link up!

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. She is an interior designer, wife, and mother of two. She and Justin have remodeled three Read More

About Cassity

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. She is an interior designer, wife, and mother of two. She and Justin have remodeled three homes from top to bottom and are working on their fourth. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.